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Spoke about:

-How viable the project would be to do

-Different shoes we could use

-When we would start the lab testing

-What was to come in the next few weeks (learning each lab test e.g collecting force plate data)

-What data we could collect

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1. Find the muscle and draw a circle around the area

2. Shave the hairs in the area

3. Disinfect the area

4. Place sticky pads on the EMG and place on the muscle

5. Start the test

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-Spoke about EMG and how to collect the data

-Researched into carbon plate shoes and found prices for them

-Found the tibialis anterior, soleus and lateral gastrocnemius, and found some EMG data for them as a practice using the technique

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1. Open BioWare app

2. Press data, then acquire trial

3. Change length and rate to adequate values

4. Set up the time gates with an adequate spacing in between ensuring the sensors are pointing towards each other

5. Press start and start running the tests

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-We found out the 3 shoes we will have to our disposable for the project

-Learnt about GRFs and how to measure them

-Blue line= vertical forces, Green line= medio lateral forces, Red line= horizontal forces

-We used time gates and learnt how to set them up

Newtons laws

1st- objects will remain at rest, or if in motion, remains in motion at constant velocity unless acted on by an external force (law of inertia)

2nd- acceleration of objects depend upon the mass of the object and amount of force applied

3rd- for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction

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-We had a first look at the pair of decathlon carbon plated shoes

-We was looking at pressure distribution using the treadmill

-We used Gateway 3D software and Zebris to find the pressures of the foot when running

-We used this software to analyse gait, from this we can see if people are at risk of injury, and can also see imbalances between either leg

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-We looked at video analysis this week

-Using sensors stuck to the leg, we can identify how far the foot everts when we are running

-A camera is placed behind the runner, that captures a video of the run in slow motion so we can see the amount of pronation that takes place

-We can then input this data into the computer to find out the angle, finding out how much the foot has everted

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-We generated possible research question this week

-Each research question included at least two techniques we have learnt

-The questions compared each shoes against one another and would test which shoe performed better for the techniques (e.g. which would have a better pressure distribution)

-Then stated what the dependent and independent variables would be for each research question created, also said what the experimental design would be

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Using gaitway 3D software

1. Click 'measure'

2. Click 'treadmill control'

3. Add runners data into system

4. Set speed and elevation

5. Press record after starting treadmill

6. Gather needed data and 'save' when done so

Using Zebris (pressure software)

1. Gait analysis FDM-T

2. Record and set the speed on gaitway 3D

3. 1:1 report to find averages and maximum values

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-We looked over all the techniques we had leant prior

-We chose what our research question will be

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How do carbon-plated running shoes compare to foam-sole runnings shoes in their effects on rear foot motion and ground reaction forces associated with injury risk?

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How do carbon-plated running shoes compare to foam-sole runnings shoes in their effects on rear foot motion and ground reaction forces associated with injury risk?

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-We gave a powerpoint presentation on our chosen research question

-The presentation included the objectives and hypothesis, methods, procedures and data analysis

-Adrian tasked me to find out what loading rate was: loading rate refers to the rate at which forces is applied to the body/muscle over a period of time, expressed as the slope of the force-time curve during the initial impact phase of an activity

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Video analysis prep

1. Place reflective markers on lower leg, foot and shoes

2. Use Quintic system to video posterior frontal view of each participants lower legs

3. Set treadmill speed

Video analysis

1. Set videos to include single stance phase (couple of images before foot strike till toe off)

2. Auto digitize the markers and smooth

3. Obtain single angle of each segment to 'the horizontal'

4. Use single video angular analysis and click leg proximal, leg distal, horizontal= angle of lower leg to horizontal

5. Use same analysis and click calcaneus proximal, calcaneus distal, horizontal= angle of foot to horizontal

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Carbon-Plated Running Shoes and Injury Risk: A Biomechanical Analysis in Recreational Runners

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Journal of Sports Sciences

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How do carbon-plated running shoes compare to foam-sole runnings shoes in their effects on rear foot motion and ground reaction forces associated with injury risk?

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Assess and compare RFM (e.g. maximum pronation angle and angular velocity) across three shoe conditions: premium carbon-plated, budget carbon-plated, and foam-soled.

Measure and contrast GRF variables (e.g. peak impact force and VLR) across the three shoes.

Determine whether differences in RFM and GRF among footwear types are associated with biomechanical indicators of injury risk.

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H₀: There will be no significant difference in the RFM and GRF between carbon- plated and foam-soled running shoes, indicating no effect on injury risk.

H₁: There will be significant differences in rearfoot motion and ground reaction forces between carbon-plated and foam-soled running shoes in recreational runners.

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From left to right- Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 3, Decathlon Kiprun KD900X LD, Brooks Trace 3.

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RFM= The movement of the rearfoot (specifically calcaneus) when compared to the tibia.

Pronation Angle= The angular movement of the foot, pronation is the inward roll of foot during running/walking. Measured in °.

Pronation Angular Velocity= The time rate of change of foot pronation, showing how quick the foot rolls inward. Measured in °/s.

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GRF= The force generated by the ground in response to the force applied to it by the body. It follows Newton's Third Law- every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Measured in N.

Vertical Loading Rate= The rate of increase in vertical GRF during early stance phase, represented by the slope of the GRF-time curve. Measured in N/s.

Impact Peak Force= The initial maximum vertical GRF occurring shortly after foot strike. Measured in N.

Active Peak Force= The maximum vertical GRF, during the midstance phase. Measured in N.

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The Importance of Footwear in Injury Risk

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The Importance of Footwear in Injury Risk

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There are several ways footwear can influence injury risk:

Shock absorption: Cushioning materials help absorb GRF.

Biomechanics alteration: Joint kinematics can be altered due to shoe design.

Load distribution: Different shoe designs can distribute pressure differently across the foot.

Foot strike: Shoe designs can change the way runners foot strike, for example shifting foot strike more closer the forefoot.

Fatigue: Footwear can reduce muscular fatigue, reducing risk of injury.

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Incorporate a rigid carbon fibre plate in the midsole of the shoe along with cushioned, responsive foam.

The plate aims to increase forward propulsion through a 'lever effect'.

Biomechanics may be altered for wearers that are not experienced with the shoes, for example most recreational runners.

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Use cushioning foam in the midsoles designed to give comfort to wearers and absorb impact forces when running.

Example foams include EVA, TPU and PEBA.

Traditionally these shoes are the most popular for recreational runners.

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Six recreational runners participated (five males and one female).

All signed an informed consent form and read the information participation sheet before testing begun.

Eligibility criteria: 18-22 years old, UK shoe size 9, be a recreational runner.

Exclusion criteria: Any current injuries, were pregnant, had reduced movement, any recent lower limb injury that stopped training occurring.

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Shows the placement and tracking of markers. The top two markers were used to calculate the angle and angular velocity of the lower leg, and the bottom two were used to calculate for the calcaneus.

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Reflective markers were placed on participants' lower limb. These markers reflected the light from the Quintic camera (Quintic Consultancy Ltd., Birmingham, United Kingdom) that was positioned directly behind the treadmill. This camera captured RFM at high speeds. The settings for the Quintic camera system included:

Pixel clock- 192MHz

Frame rate- 99.99fps

Exposure time- 2.995ms

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The Gaitway 3D Data Stream Treadmill (h/p/cosmos, Nussdorf-Traunstein, Germany) was used to collect GRF data. The treadmill has built in force plates embedded in to the base of the treadmill, these capture the GRFs.

The system captures vertical (Fz), anterior-posterior (Fy) and medio-lateral (Fx) forces at high sampling frequency. We used a sampling frequency of 1000Hz, to capture the rapid movement during running accurately.

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Participants given 5-minutes to warm up on the treadmill.

They then ran for 3-minutes at 10.5 km/h in each footwear condition.

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Results showed the VAPORFLY consistently had higher maximum pronation angles and maximum pronation angular velocity, when compared to the other conditions.

Although this pattern emerged, the repeated-measures ANOVA revealed no statistically significant differences between footwear.

The inter-individual variability was high throughout the study.

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For the VLR, the VAPORFLY produced the highest average but also had the highest variability in results. No statistically significant differences were found between the shoes for VLR.

For impact peak force, the data was too limited to proceed with statistical testing, however from result trends, it can be seen that the TRACE had a reduced impact loading compared to the VAPORFLY.

For active peak force, the results were very similar across the shoes, with no significant differences found.

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The carbon-plated shoes (specifically the VAPORFLY) caused higher pronation angular velocities and VLRs, indicating greater biomechanical demands on the lower limb. This can potentially increase the risk of overuse injuries on the surrounding muscles and tendons as they are not adapted to these higher demands.

Individual variability was high across all shoe conditions, suggesting that individual's unique biomechanics influenced the results gathered, not just the shoes design. This idea supports the 'preferred movement path', which suggests footwear should help runners run in their preferred manner and not try to alter their movement (Nigg et al., 2015).

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-Using each individual as their own control, this adopted a within-subject design to account for inter-individual variability, enhancing internal validity.

-The chosen running pace (10.5 km/h) accurately represents recreational running speed.

-Analysing both RFM and GRF simultaneously provided a deeper understanding as to how different shoe conditions affect injury risk.

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-Small sample size (n=6) and missing data values, limited statistical power

-Short running durations (3-minutes) meant that runners may not have exhibited any biomechanical changes or adaptation effects.

-Foot strike pattern was not accounted for, could have led to some misinterpretation of data.

-Although a random number generator was used, the order of shoes they ran in, participant familiarity may have contributed to variation in results.

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-Carbon-plated shoes may increase biomechanical stress (although we cannot say for certain from our results as we did not directly measure this)

-The cheaper KIPRUN may be a better alternative to the VAPORFLY, as they had similar results but the KIPRUN is significantly cheaper.

-Runners should ultimately select running shoes that are suited to their unique biomechanics and not solely opt for those with performance benefits.

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-Use a larger and more diverse sample size

-Incorporate electromyography (EMG) alongside RFM and GRF to examine the effects of footwear on muscle activity and correlate these findings to injury risk.

-Account for foot strike patterns of participants, to help better understand the results.

-Use longer running durations to allow for potential biomechanical changes.

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As a recreational runner myself and being into fitness, I have been intrigued to look into carbon-plated shoes.

When first researching about the shoes, the VAPORFLY was highly popular and had lots of studies and journals publishing about how they improve running performance. Carbon-plated shoes grew even more popular after Kelvin Kiptum set the marathon world record wearing a pair of Nike Alphafly 3s.

I noticed a lack of research that looked at the effects of these shoes on injury risk. As carbon-plated shoes become more popular and accessible to non-elite runners, it is important to understand how they may contribute to increased injury risk.

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Data Collection and Biomechanical Testing

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Data Collection and Biomechanical Testing

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Gaining hands-on experience with professional testing equipment has helped me develop valuable skills that I may apply in the future, especially if my career path changes.

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Working in our groups for the project has improved my teamwork skills greatly. Before the project I did not know anyone in my group, meaning we had to get to know each other along with getting the testing done, improving each of our teamwork and conversation skills.

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Throughout the process of making this project, we encountered several problems that needed dealing with. From problems with the equipment to IT problems with excel and other software, these problems were solved. This improved my problem solving and thinking skills, now being able to come up with solutions to things that go wrong, instead of brushing them aside.

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Having to conform to the ethical standards required at MMU for participant testing has given me an insight into how professional testing and studies are handled.

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Identifying trends in our results and linking them to injury risk literature has helped my critical thinking skills. This has helped me understand more on injury risk and how footwear can influence this, helping me with my own footwear choice.

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